The invention relates to a bearing supporting the tiltable swashplate of a hydraulic axial cylinder machine, comprising segments of rolling contact bearing elements held in arcuate cages between a concave cylindrical bearing face in the machine casing and a corresponding convex cylindrical bearing face on the swashplate.
When the swashplate is readjusted for the purpose of changing the stroke of the axial cylinder machine the segments containing the rolling contact bearing elements, generally rollers, travel between the two cylindrical bearing surfaces half as far as the surface of the swashplate itself. This theoretical relationship holds only if the rolling contact elements, i.e. the rollers, actually perform an exclusively rolling motion. In practice it is impossible to prevent the cage from slipping in course of time after repeated adjustment and/or as a result of vibrations. The result is that the rolling contact elements will move into a less favorable position for supporting the load.
A problem which consequently presents itself is that of keeping the bearing segments between the cylindrical surface of the swashplate and the corresponding concave cylindrical surface in the casing in the best position for supporting the load, i.e. so that in actual practice they will, in fact, travel exactly half the distance the swashplate bearing surface moves during adjustment.
For the purpose of positively driving the bearing segments so that they will respond to movements of the swashplate and be entrained the required distance, and for ensuring correct rolling contact and the desired distribution of the load, it has already been proposed in the published specification of German Pat. application No. 1,653,617 to provide the bearing segments, i.e. their cages, with pinions which engage a gear segment affixed to the casing as well as a gear segment yieldingly attached to the swashplate. However, this is a complex and expensive design that requires a large number of individual components. The pinions engaging the gear segments cause considerable wear and close tolerances are needed in manufacture, apart from the fact that the accommodation of this arrangement requires a considerable amount of extra space.